Monthly Archives: May 2016

If you are anywhere near Ireland this Northern hemisphere summer, there is absolutely no excuse for not learning to play, sing or dance. Festivals and summer schools are burgeoning, with most offering opportunities to learn Irish set dancing, Irish sean nós dancing and/ or to learn to play or master a range of traditional musical instruments, as well as a wide range of concerts, céilís and lectures. And, of course, there are the fourprovincial fleadhanna(flaa-na), festivals incorporating competitions for traditional musicians and dancers, with the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann being hosted by Ennis, Co.Clare in August this year.

There is a tangible increase in 2016 for opportunities to learn and compete at sean nós dancing, to attend singing classes and performances, and much more on offer specifically for children.

You can find your way around all 38 festivals listed here by either using the interactive map or by scrolling the date listing below, which also includes a brief description.

Sunday 12th June- Thursday 16th June 2016 Enniscrone Irish and Country Music FestivalEnniscrone, Co.Sligo
The 5 day festival brings together some of the best Country and Western stars under one roof in the Diamond Coast Hotel but the festival also gives the opportunity for people to take part in set dance workshops, ballroom and social dance workshops, music tutorials, sessions and with music and dance taking place till late in the night.http://www.diamondcoast.ie/Irish_Trad_and_Country_Music_Festival.html

Sunday 12th-Sunday 19th June 2016Galway Sessions Galway city, Co.Galway
Dedicated this year to the memory of Éamonn Ceannt, there will be lectures, music, recitals and wide range of other events.www.galwaysessions.com

Monday20th June – Friday 1st July 2016 BLÁS Limerick, Co.Limerick
Intensive “deep dive” workshops and master classes for experienced singers, dancers and musicians with a focus on collaborative integration of understanding between the disciplines- a residential program at the University of Limerick.www.blas.ie

Saturday 2nd July- Saturday 9th July 2016 Willie Clancy Summer SchoolMiltown Malbay, Co.Clare
Affectionately known as Willie Week, this is probably the longest running of these festivals. There’s always a great buzz in Miltown: we call it Set Dancing Mecca! Classes for music and dance are run each morning from 10-1pm from Monday – Saturday, interspersed with a wide range of afternoon and evening set dancing céilís around the area, singing sessions & music sessions in pubs. Highly recommended for those who want full immersion, deep dive into Irish culture & craic. http://www.scoilsamhraidhwillieclancy.com/http://www.armadahotel.com/events.html/armada-festival-of-music-dancing-2016

Sunday 10th July- Saturday 16th July 2016 South Sligo Summer School Tubbercurry, Co.Sligo
This has become my favorite festival for it’s laid back nature but also the learning to dance program is excellent. Different energy to Willie Clancy, it’s more intimate, gentler and very enjoyable in this beautiful part of Co.Sligo, with very deep music & dance tradition. Set dancing and music classes are in the morning 10am-1pm, a sean nós dance program in the afternoon from 4-6pm, and a range of concerts in the afternoons, and set dancing céilís in the evenings, with sessions in the pubs to follow. http://www.sssschool.org/index.html

Friday 16th July -Sunday 25th July 2016 Ulster Fleadh 2016 Bangor, Co.Down
Ulster Province Fleadh, which is primarily provincial competitions for traditional musicians and dancers and other artists, organised by the local Comhaltas Cheoltóirí Éireann (CCE).www.ulsterfleadh.com

Saturday 16th July – Sunday 17th July Munster Fleadh 2016Listowel,Co.Kerry
Muster Province Fleadh, which is primarily provincial competitions for traditional musicians and dancers and other artists, organised by the local Comhaltas Cheoltóirí Éireann (CCE).www.munsterfleadh.ie

Sunday 17th July – Saturday 24thJuly 2016 Joe Mooney Summer School Drumshanbo Co. Leitrim
Drumshanbo is delightful – a similar format to South Sligo Summer School, the difference here is the focus is very much around the unusual main street, which has a pedestrian mezzanine above the lane of traffic, where you can sit out in the sun, dance, listen to music & enjoy the people going by and enjoy a number of excellent evening céilís.www.JoeMooneySummerSchool.com

Monday 18th July – Friday 22nd July Get in Step Summer CampRiverstown, Co Sligo
€60 for five classes sean nós and set dancing summer school for kids from 5 to 17 years from 10am–2pm daily
Eimear Mulvey (086) 258 4465

Monday 25th July 2016 O’Carolan Summer School and Harp Festival Keadue, Co Roscommon
The Irish composer Turlough O’Carolan is the inspiration for this summer school and festival in this gorgeous town.http://www.ocarolanharpfestival.ie/

Saturday 30th July 2016 James Morrison Traditional Music Festival Riverstown, Co Sligo.
A full trad festival with open air céilís, concerts, sessions and more in the home village of a fiddler who became famous in the USA.http://jamesmorrisonfestival.com/author/admin/

AUGUST 2016

Saturday 31st July – 7th August 2016 The Irish Dance Festival Carlingford, Co.Louth
Spend a week learning from some of the world’s best Irish dance masters of three styles – step, set and sean nós – and connect with fellow lovers of Irish dance by immersing yourself in Irish culture and heritage. www.irishdancefestival.com

Wednesday 3 August-Monday 8th August Feakle International Festival of Traditional MusicFeakle, Co Clare
The big festival in the small village of Feakle runs for seven days from Wednesday to Monday with many concerts & sessions in addition to the dancing events shown here. http://www.feaklefestival.ie

Monday 8 August – Friday 12 August Get in Step Summer Camp Kilcummin, Co,Kerry
Sean nós and set dancing summer school for kids from 5 to 17 years.
Adrian Moriarty (087) 933 0768

Wednesday 17 August – Sunday 21 August 2016 Masters of Tradition Bantry, Cork
Celebrating traditional music in its’purest form through a series of concerts and performances, directed by Martin Hayes.www.WestCorkMusic.ie/MastersOfTradition

Thursday 18th August- Sunday 21st August 2016Coleman Traditional Festival
Gurteen, Co.Sligo
The Coleman Traditional Irish Music Centre is a celebration of Irish Music, Culture and Heritage as expressed in the South Sligo Style of music played by Michael Coleman and other musicians of his time.
This community based enterprise in Gurteen, Co.Sligo, Ireland is dedicated to ensuring that the tradition of Irish music remains a living one ‘an traidisiún beo’ and that it continues to be enjoyed by all ages and nationalities.www.colemanirishmusic.com

22 years ago, when the Eurovision song contest was being held in Dublin, there was a filler act for the interval that was initially met with modest, uncertain applause when it started. What happened after that performance is now history, but I wanted to go back and have a look at the performance to see what it was that so transfixed us all.

Quite simply, it was beautiful, effortless and dream-like. It looked elegant and it sounded amazing, from the incredible singing introduction from Anúna, the gorgeous lyrical music and those stunning percussive rhythms, dancers synchronised playing off and responding to drums and each other. It had a story moving from the spiritual spell of water to a slick, modern city backdrop, in a kind of Clannad-meets-An-American-in-Paris moment.

And people responded in their hundreds of thousands, flocking to unprepared, dazed Irish dance schools, wanting a piece of that dream they had glimpsed and experienced. I know, I was one of them. Up until Riverdance, Irish step dancing had been something that young Irish girls and boys and those of the diaspora did as an obligation, taking their weekly classes or more often than not, skivving off and spending their sixpence on sweets (I’ve heard that story from many a dance friend).

The image of Irish step dancing was a little old-fashioned, a bit dowdy but reliable. As a student, you knew the rules, you knew the repertoire of dances, what to do to pass an exam and you got on with it. Costumes were modest, competitions and performances were regular and classes were strict.

Now, with the influx of thousands of young hopefuls, the sheer volume of interest has begun to move the dance in a whole different direction: a tidal surge causing it to lose it’s mooring of grace, rhythm and a deep connection with the music. I am concerned about much of what that means for the dancing, the dancers and the Irish culture it supposedly represents.

It’s now all about the extremes, intensity and deadly seriousness, and a slightly nasty edge that comes with all that- I have written more about this from an Australian viewpoint. For many dancers, there is an expectation of very intensive training, that dancing on pointeand extreme ballet turnout is the norm, that getting injured is de rigueur, that money is no object and that dancers will do almost anything to win including moving schools – sometimes even moving country to improve their chances of winning a competition.

And those dresses, wigs and make-up – what can I say. It is natural that styles will change over time and is part of all development. However, t’would give the haute couture of Louis XIV, Sun King of France a run for his money. And look what happened to him and his court!

Louis XIV The Sun King

Image: Gavin Doherty Design

The saddest part for me is seeing the music applied like wallpaper – a background only for the dancing, and not integral or cherished in any way. There seems to be very little attempt to fit the steps to the music and to really connect with the complexity and beauty of it. Irish music is so full of character and life and much of the music I see in many Irish step dancing performances is pretty dreary stuff, in my opinion.

Not a patch on those beautiful compositions of Bill Whelan, nor any of the thousands of wonderful recorded uplifting music tracks available online for a few dollars. Music and dance work best in harmony, not submission.

So, while I genuinely applaud the interest in Irish step dancing, I am hopeful we will come full circle, back to a more beautiful and elegant form of dance that appreciates it’s cultural roots, more reflective of the emotion and rhythm in the music and just plain joyful and free.